Running Ahead

For the past year, I used the online running log from CoolRunning. Recently CoolRunning gave up supporting their log, and sent their users to Active.com. Unfortunately, the Active running log is nowhere near the quality of the now defunct Cool Running log.

The Active forums were packed with complaints from dissatisfied customers. Fortunately, someone posted the URL for Running Ahead, which has a log that is similar in quality to the Cool Running log. I don't know for sure, but is seems like Running Ahead is a one man organization, and that one man does a great job. He stepped up when he saw buckets of Cool Running users coming over, and wrote an import script specifically for Cool Running users. I was able to bring over all of my data, and I couldn't be happier. If you are looking for an online log to use, I recommend you check this one out.

Thank you Running Ahead!

Fred Lebow 5 Miler

After Thursday night's problems, I wasn't sure if I would be able to run on Saturday. I decided to go out and just jog the course if I wasn't feeling strong.

I woke up feeling unexpectedly well, however, and the jog out to the start felt good, so I decided to go ahead and give it a try.

I lined up at the 7 minute mile pace sign (my PR was a 6:56 pace). From there I spotted RB, J-CK among others. I started off with a sub 7 mile, and I felt fine, so I decide to continue to push. In the second mile RB came up and said "wow, if I'm running with you, I must be having a good race!" (yeah, right) I replied that I thought he was running past me, not with me, and indeed he soon moved on. RB has been really moving at speed work these days, but he was looking even faster than expected.

I kept the sub 7 minute miles going, and ended up with a PR 33:52 (6:46/mile), but the real news was RB. He PRed as well, beating his previous best from 10 years ago. Now that rocks.

Although I PRed, I'm still pursuing my goal of 70%AG. This race I matched my last race with 69.7%. That last 0.3% is tough, but I'll get it soon!

Thursday Night at the Races

I drew number four. A good draw, but I wasn't sure I wanted it. A higher draw might have made it easier to drop to the back of the pack and stay out of trouble. I didn't really feel like getting run over by faster runners. "Four!" came the call and I stepped into my place -- fourth from the inside in a heat of 20 runners on a track with 6 lanes.

I was at the Armory in upper Manhattan at the first race in a series of track meets that they call Thursday Night at the Races. After running my first marathon, I had been struck with the urge to work on my speed for shorter races. I had a great time at the 5th Avenue Mile, and if I didn't want to wait another year for that event to come around, the track meets at the Armory seemed like the best opportunity. I had no idea what to expect, and I had come to find out.

I was on an early schedule -- still jet lagged from a recent trip to Japan. I wasn't sure I would make it to the evening, so I went ahead with my usual Thursday morning run with the Flyers, which these days is close to 10 miles went you count in the run to the meet point and back (which I do). I knew this wasn't the ideal preparation for an evening race, but since I wasn't feeling too tired, I decided to go on up to the Armory and check out the scene.

When they called the men's mile event, I went over with well over 100 other guys. "Who can run 4:10?" called the organizer. "4:15?" Before long, he had 20 guys for the first heat. These guys were not lying about how fast they were. They were ridiculously fast. Each heat has slower runners than the last, but not much slower. Waiting for the times to reach my range, I chatted with a few other runners, including DR, fellow Flyer and blogger. I had read his blog, so it was great to actually meet him for the first time.

The cut off for the second to last heat was 5:20. The last heat took everyone slower. My time in the 5th Avenue Mile was 5:57. If I could match that here, I might be able to finish without getting lapped.

The gun sounded and we were off. The runners spread out quickly and my fears of colliding with someone faded. I had run races in the park with 5000 runners jammed into the rec lane. This was roomy by comparison.

As soon as that problem disappeared another surfaced. In the first lap, my mouth and throat suddenly became so dry that breathing was harsh. This had never happen to me before. Was I dehydrated? I didn't think so. I decided to ignore it - hey, it's only a mile right? Watching all the young fast runners that preceded my heat had been a little disheartening, but once I got running, it was fun. I was toward the back of the pack, but not last by any means. As the laps wound down, some of the folks in front of me began to fade, and I started passing some folks. I was able to muster a pretty good kick at the end, and finished somewhere in the middle of the field.

A few minutes after the race, I started coughing. It felt like I had done something abusive to my lungs. It got progressively worse, until I was coughing on each breath I took. I started to worry that I soon I wouldn't able to breathe at all. Another runner asked if I was OK, and told me "it's the air in here, it happens to me too." I decided to get outside for some fresh air. On the way out I passed another runner from my heat that was having the same problem.

Once I got outside, my breathing started to return to normal, but even the next day I was not feeling completely right. By Saturday, I felt normal again. Just in time for the Fred Lebow 5 Mile race in the park. But that's another story....

Running Japan

Before going to Japan this year, I was really excited to have found out about the CHIYODA Soyukai running club, which has a web page in English inviting foreigners to join them in their weekly runs around the Imperial Palace. Unfortunately, circumstances prevented me from making their weekly time, but I hope to catch them next time.

Although I couldn't make it to a run with the Japanese club, I did get to the Imperial Palace. My guide was Alex (left), son of family friends who live nearby. We met at a subway stop right by the palace, ran the loop, and then jogged back to his house, where both families got together for dinner. The palace loop is lovely -- it's a mixed bag, some wide paths, some narrow, some urban, some more "park like". Plenty of views of the huge moat (pictured left), as well as beautiful park land and structures. I recommend it to any runners passing through Tokyo. My favorite part was a section in which beautiful old trees extended their branches over the path at about the 5 1/2 foot level -- perfect for decapitating me. Fortunately, they were well marked and I escaped with my head.

The Imperial Palace was a great tourist run, but I was thrilled when I found a place closer to home for my daily runs, and I had some great runs in the early hours while the family was sleeping.

That place was the Komazawa Olympic Park -- just a 13 minute run from my sister-in-law's apartment. The park was used in the 1964 Olympics, and now has a running/biking path around it's circumference. The loop is a little over 2 kilometers, and is marked every 100 meters. I loved having access to a marked path so that I could take advantage of the vacation time to get some good training in. I took easy runs, tempo runs, and even ran intervals there.

It was also interesting to observe the people that were out in the park. The path was too short for "serious" bikers, but there were plenty of folks coasting around on simple bikes with baskets on the front. There were a good number of joggers, but very few who were pushing the pace. There were also a lot of folks out walking. I was a very peaceful place.

There was a running store at the park, and I had to laugh when my wife translated the promo for a running outfit being sold there: "You may be in Komazawa Park, but with this outfit on, you will feel like you are running in New York's Central Park!"

At Tokyo Disney (don't ask), there was a path around the park (2 parks really), that was about 5K. It was quite beautiful in places, especially at sunrise, lined by palm trees with a stretch along the water.

In Kochi, I stumbled across a running path along the Kagami River just a few blocks from our hotel. There was a three mile stretch on each side that made a great 6 mile loop. At dawn the fish were jumping, and the many small bridges were silhouetted against the morning sky. I didn't get my camera to the river, but on the left is a shot that I borrowed, that gives you the idea of what I was seeing from the path.

One morning outside of Kochi, we were driving up a gorgeous winding mountain road on our way to a remote Japanese bath house, and we came upon a road race in progress. We passed the finish line, and continued up the road, passing runners going the other way. As I pointed and and made incoherent noises, my wife explained to her sister and brother in law that I would have loved to have been in the race. They smiled and nodded politely.

All in all, it was a great vacation. I was amazed by the great places I found to run, and I suspect that there is much more to be found. Running is very big in Japan, and I hope to experience more of it next time. Aside from finding cool new places to run, I hope to run with a club sometime, and even find a small race that I can enter.

2007

I haven`t posted for a while, as I've been traveling and had very little time on line. I'm in the Kochi Airport (Japan) right now, paying 100 yen per 10 minutes at an Internet Kiosk, but I've got to get an end of the year post done. Please excuse me if it ends abruptly when they call my flight!

Looking back, 2007 was a big year for me. This blog is on my running life only, and it was a great year for running. It was my first full year as a runner, and included many firsts, including my first marathon. I'm more excited than ever about running, and I've got plenty of new goals for next year.

2007 Highlights:
NYC Marathon!
The 5th Avenue Mile
The Need For Speed Relay
Continuing to get faster, including new PRs in December!
Losing a whole bunch of weight

Looking forward to 2008:
Keep getting faster!
Consistent weekly millage - without the pre-marathon long runs
Break the 70% AG ( passed 69% in December)
Flyers Team Black returns to the Need for Speed Relay!
Keep having fun running!

Gotta run -- coming soon, a report on my runs in Japan.

4 for the Holiday

Today was the NYRR Holiday 4 Mile race in Central Park. It was my last race for 2007, and I've been gearing up for a while to really push it to the limit in this race.

I jogged over to the race with my buddy PL, and met up with the H's. Three members of the H family were racing and KH generously served as pit crew for us and her son's schoolmates. She even had an extra pair of gloves and a headband for the tragically under-dressed PL.

When the race started I went out fast according to plan. I hit the first mile marker at 6:46, a pretty good clip for me if I could hold it. I was already feeling winded though, and glad that the next mile was mostly downhill. The second mile went by in 6:44, but holding steady on this mile was a sign of fatigue, given the mostly downhill slope. Knowing that mile 3 was the toughest mile, including Cat Hill, I had my doubts as to whether I would be able to hold pace.

As I approached the base of the hill, I flashed back to the many workouts I had done with the morning Flyers at this very spot. We run hard up the hill, jog down and repeat, usually 8 times. I got my head into training mode and powered up the hill.

Around the top of the hill, Flyer GW spotted me from the sidelines and ran along side me for a bit. Now, the way I was breathing (panting) at that point, most of my friends would have suggested that I step out of the race and sit down on a couch (or hospital bed) where I belonged. GW however, is a running friend, and he took a different approach. He yelled at me, insisting that I push harder. When I tried to make some sort of clever remark back, he suggested "less talking, more running!".

Inspired by GW, I continued to push, and at the end of mile 3 I was surprised to find that I had kept pace pretty well (6:48). Then it was just a matter of what I could pull out for the last mile. With about a half mile to go, I heard a runner behind me call out my name. A few seconds later I was passed by MT and RJ, two fast young runners that I train with. They were obviously not running their hardest races, but it was still great to be approaching the finish of a race anywhere near them. I did my best to hang near to them as they led the way to the finish line.

When it was over, I was completely out of breath, but happy with my effort. I ran the last mile in 6:29, making my total race time 26:45. Average pace: 6:41/mile. I wasn't the fastest guy out there by any means, but I absolutely gave it my all. I was a PR for me, and I finished 20th of 242 men in my age group.

I grabbed some hot chocolate, and met back up with PL and the H's. PL, TH and I walked back to the West Side together. It was a great end to the the racing year. I'm already dreaming about racing in 2008. See you out there!

Going for the Max

This article in the NY Times addresses the question of maximum performance.

Here's a quote: "

BILL MORGAN, an emeritus professor of kinesiology at the University of Wisconsin, likes to tell the story, which he swears is true, of an Ivy League pole vaulter who held the Division 1 record in the Eastern region.

His coaches and teammates, though, noticed that he could jump even higher. Every time he cleared the pole, he had about a foot to spare. But if they moved the bar up even an inch, the vaulter would hit it every time. One day, when the vaulter was not looking, his teammates raised the bar a good six inches. The man vaulted over it, again with a foot to spare.

When his teammates confessed, the pole vaulter could not believe it. But, Dr. Morgan added, “once he saw what he had done, he walked away from the jumping pit and never came back.”

After all, Dr. Morgan said, everyone would expect him to repeat that performance. And how could he?"

What a story! The head game is huge for runners. I would say that it is an even bigger differentiator for amateurs like myself than it is for professionals. Why? Well, the pros have complete clarity about commitment. Three miles into a 10K (6.2 miles), amateurs have to ask themselves "do I really want to keep up this level of exertion (pain) for another 3.2 miles?" The questions of "can I do it?" and "do I want to do it?" become blurred. We often hear the advice: "don't go out too fast", even for middle distance races. This can easily turn into an excuse for backing off when you start to feel tired.

For shorter races, I tend to go out fast and then hang on, not letting myself slow down unless my body simply fails me. I tend to find out that I can hang on pretty darn well, and exceed my expectations.

For longer races, however, this doesn't work for me. I can only "hang on" for so long. If I'm doubting my pace a third of the way through a half marathon, I'm in trouble. So where is the line drawn between a shorter and a longer race? Right now, it seems to be at the 10K distance. I can treat a 10K as a short race, but it ain't easy, and anything longer is another story.

One goal for next year will be to bring all of my PRs for 10K or less to under a 7 minute/mile pace. I've run a 5 mile race at 6:56, so this is very realistic. Running sub 7, however, is strenuous enough for me that I need to know it's going to end before TOO long. I can't hold that level of effort for longer than 10K. If I want to go further at that pace, I'll have to get in good enough shape that I can run that fast without so much effort. Sounds like another goal...